Meticulous Reading

This morning while waiting for my co-worker to share breakfast with me at a local restaurant, I noticed an elderly man in the corner booth next to our booth. He was meticulously reading every word of our local newspaper. Once he was through reading it, he graciously gave it to me, and I thanked him for his generosity.

The word "meticulous" carries with it the idea presented in the following definition: "The Latin root of meticulous is metus, which means "fear," so it's easy to see how eventually meticulous got its meaning. Someone who's meticulous is afraid of what will happen if they're not careful enough to get every detail right. "Detail oriented" and "perfectionist" are other ways of describing someone who cares deeply about the small things and about getting things exactly right, every time. Concert pianists must be meticulous, because audiences are always listening for wrong notes" (source).

Our Lord once stated that "every word" emanating from the mouth of God is vitally important (Matthew 4:4; cf. Deuteronomy 8:3). Yes, our Lord was concerned with even the smallest letters (including the accent marks) of the Hebrew alphabet (see here). If the Lord thinks that even the smallest letters and accent marks of "every word" are important, should not we as readers consider them important as well?

Just as the above elderly man in the restaurant was meticulously reading and considering "every word" from our local newspaper, should we not as followers of Christ do the same, as we "read" and "study" God's word? (Ephesians 3:2-4; 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV). If we are going to be judged by the spoken words of Jesus (John 12:48), would it not benefit us to be "meticulous" in the reading and study of those words?

Beloved, it's something to seriously and meticulously ponder!

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets